Amanda and Jake increased their frequency of visits to the real world as the years passed by in the realm. The Entity made some decisions in its releasing of the survivors from the realm, and instead of making it mandatory, allowed the survivors to choose, when their time came, if they wished to return or wished to leave.
Nea Karlsson, Kate Denson, Feng Min, and David King all chose to leave when their time came, and were allowed the chance to say goodbye. Claudette Morel and Adam Francis elected to stay, and with Claudette deciding to stay, Joey when offered a choice to stay and go, stayed also, and was allowed to do more than just visit as a survivor, but to participate as a survivor in trials, as well as continuing to hunt for Legion as a killer. Amanda and Jake were informed by Julie and Susie that the Entity had also offered to let them go, but they had also decided to stay in the realm for awhile longer.
Amanda and Jake visited the Legion camp as they could, and the more Susie and Julie were around Jake and Amanda, the more and more they wanted to take things further in the beds in the cabin the two girls shared, but Jake still resisted, and Amanda would not act unless he chose to do so. Their marriage progressed well-past the century-mark, thanks to the realm, adding to the 23 years they were a couple prior to it. Jake's continued decline to participate in a foursome bummed Julie and Susie out, because he was indeed a hottie, and the hope of a foursome was one of the reasons they had decided to stay, but they still believed it was possible, and in the interim, welcomed Jake and Amanda as friends at every opportunity.
And then, for basically three years, Jake and Amanda remained in the real world. It was late 2007. The 2008 financial crisis was looming, and Jackson Park wanted all hands on deck. It was primarily focused on banks and mortgages, but Jackson predicted it would cause financial woes across the country, and he was right. Amanda and Jake bid temporary goodbyes to their survivor friends and the Legion girls, and stayed in New York almost exclusively, only occasionally venturing to the realm to give updates to everyone. The Apple stock also crashed pretty heavily, and Jackson said he'd been contacted by Gordon about selling it, but Jake and Amanda both decided to hang onto it and stick it out.
Park Industries weather 2008 with minimal damage to the company, but a strong toll on Jackson Park. In December of 2008, due to overwork and stress, Jackson suffered a mild heart attack. So Jake became the acting CEO of Park Industries, while keeping in regular contact with his father for guidance. Jake stayed in the position until January, 2010. Just when it seemed things were going smoothly and Jake and Amanda were making plans to return full-time to the realm, Sylvia suffered a fall on the ice and broke her hip. Amanda shifted out of the work she was doing at the company to basically become Sylvia's live-in nurse as she recovered. After all, she'd been a nurse to John Kramer, so it was a natural fit. After the surgery, she worked in tandem with a physical therapist. Sylvia had fully healed after six months, but to get her back to full mobility had essentially taken an additional six months.
And so, Amanda and Jake both aged. Amanda finally reached the age of 39, while Jake joined her in the 30 club, reaching the age of 31. Even though she was much closer to 40 than she wanted to be, Amanda was happy that Jake was in the same decade as she. Then, after Sylvia and Jackson were fully healthy and recovered, they insisted Jake and Amanda return to the realm. They'd both gone above and beyond for them the past three years, and despite the horrible situations, were thrilled to have had a full three years to spend with them. So Jake and Amanda had gone back to the realm, and resumed their habit of making two-week, real world visits. Their realm friends, after only occasional visits for three years, welcomed them back in a big way, and no one harbored any grudges after they returned. It was Ashley J. Williams who said it best.
"All of us, at some point, are going to get to go back in time, to when we first got here, and undo everything that has happened since we've been gone. Jake and Amanda, they don't get that. They're here forever, and they don't get any do-overs. We understand why you needed to stay, and we're definitely glad to have you back, so we have some more fodder to save us from some of these trials," Ash laughed.
The welcoming back was strong at the Legion camp as well. When they made their first visit after so long away, Julie and Susie had squealed in excitement for a full minute until they collected themselves.
The years flew by in the realm. Jake and Amanda celebrated their Paper, Cotton and Leather anniversaries in the real world, then celebrated their Flowers, Wooden, Candy, Copper, Bronze, Tin, Steal, Silk, Lace, Ivory Crystal, China, Silver, Pearl, Coral, Ruby, Sapphire, Golden, Emerald, and Diamond wedding anniversaries through the first 60 years of their marriage, and then they ran out of a proper list, so their 70th anniversary was Aquamarine, 80th Topaz, 90th Citrine,100th Amethyst, 110th Opal, and 120th Pink Sapphire. They decided their 130th anniversary would be Amber.
Amanda got to experience more frequently the Deathslinger, the killer that had come when Zarina joined the realm as a survivor. The harpoon gun was definitely a detractor for Amanda, who rarely liked being covert and usually relied on her slightly boosted speed to escape realm killers. Being nailed by the harpoon gun was definitely an equalizer.
As the years passed in the realm, so did they pass in the real world. Amanda got to savor a number of family holidays and birthdays for herself, Jake, Jack, and Sylvia over the slowly-passing real world years with the Park family in real-time for their extended stay, and then got to enjoy holidays when their real-world visits resumed a two week "vacation" style as the years passed by in the realm. They celebrated holidays, birthdays, and New Years Eve through 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and part of 2012, and they were halfway through the month of September in 2012.
Amanda loved Halloween more than Christmas, and had worn a revealing outfit each year. She dressed as a sexy witch in 2007, a sexy nurse in 2008, a sexy vampire in 2009, a sexy pirate in 2010, and then finally, in 2011, she dressed as a sexy version of the Pig, in a skimpy outfit and a feminine-looking Pig mask, not too dissimilar to the one she wore with her red top and black pants in the realm. Naturally, she'd fucked Jake in every costume, and during the last Halloween night in 2011, he'd managed to get over the weirdness of Amanda riding him while wearing the pig mask to have a very powerful orgasm.
Even though they'd aged three years now, there was very little change to either Jake or Amanda's physical appearance, though she'd had to resume a tanning regimen of outdoors and in tanning beds to keep her golden brown skin through the winters of 2008-2010. They chatted among themselves and decided that as the years progressed in the real world, they would imagine themselves as aged before returning, to make it appear that they were aging normally with Jake's parents. Thankfully, the powers of the realm would allow them to do so.
Amanda had kept to her word, and had not killed anyone since Eby. She'd not even really had the urge to do so. The blood lust she'd had in the subway terminal had been sated by that single act. Jake knew he would reward her, and really wanted to do so, if he only knew how. Somehow, he was determined to find a way to let her know how proud of her he was that she'd stuck to her word about not being a hunting vigilante. Their status as a couple was rock solid by now. They made no effort to travel outside of New York when visiting the real world, they appreciated the safety of it, especially after their abilities of the realm became only temporary when they returned to the realm during those occasional visits from 2008-2010. Without that safety net, they were very careful to not put themselves at risk, and there had been no more attempts to kidnap Amanda, nor any disasters, etc.
It was after their latest trip to the real world that ended for them on the morning of Sept. 18 that Jake and Amanda were introduced to a new survivor in the realm, and to say that she was problematic would be an understatement.
The survivor who was waiting for them when they returned from their latest visit to the real world, they discovered, was a former record producer named Yun-Jin Lee, who had a cutthroat disposition from her years fighting as a record producer, and carried the same attitude in the realm. Even Ash, who considered himself a huge asshole before he met and fell for Jane Romero, was completely taken aback with her attitude, and there had been more than one conversation between Ash and Jane after Yun's arrival in which Jane had assured him that he was never THAT bad, even when he was at his self-centered worst in the realm.
Yun had been in the realm for over a week before Jake and Amanda had returned from their latest excursion to the real world. She'd been told there were two others but was still surprised when the tall man and the short, black-haired woman had appeared, seemingly from thin air, from their cabin and joined the smattering of other survivors at the fire.
Yun noticed Jake immediately. Sexy, long black hair, a strong body. Tall. He was gorgeous. She was so enamored with him that she barely took notice of Amanda, who was even shorter when she was going barefoot, as she was now, and who appeared quite small next to Jake at the moment.
She quickly introduced herself with a smile, and Jake introduced himself, and then Amanda, as his wife. Yun looked down a few inches and then finally noticed Amanda, who forced a smile onto her face and gave a dainty, 'Hello, yeah, I'm here,' wave, before shaking Yun's hand as though they were about to enter into a duel.
Yun looked at the rings and giggled. "Oh, married, like realm married? Ash and Jane have rings too. It's so cute, but really, it isn't actually anything official. I mean, until you actually sign the paper, all it really is, is being engaged to be engaged. And people change. They grow apart, find other interests..."
Amanda displayed her large rock in front of Yun's face and said, "No. Married. In the real world. In a real ceremony. I wore a dress and everything. We wrote vows...Said them in front of a priest...Real married...I even signed that piece of paper you mentioned after it was over, and we share a last name and all that jazz...Real married. Death do us part, the whole fucking shebang."
Amanda's face was dark as she saw the look of displeasure flash over Yun's own. And Jake, God bless him, pulled Amanda into his arms and lifted her as she giggled and said, "But the wedding wasn't anywhere near as fun as the honeymoon. I'm surprised we didn't make the building collapse from all your pleasured screaming." He pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss as Yun rolled her eyes.
Then she felt a wave of jealousy. Jake Park...He was the son of a billionaire. She was well aware of who he was and who his family was, and this small old woman had gotten him to fall in love with her. She had some attractiveness, but Yun could see she was older than he and Yun were, probably close to 40, and was nowhere near as gorgeous as Yun knew herself to be. Now that she was here, and because she knew how capable she was of making men fall at her feet by batting her eyes, Yun had no doubts that with all the time she apparently had at her disposal while she and Jake were stuck here that she could wrap him around her fin...GOOD GOD THEY WERE STILL MAKING OUT?
And they were. Because they were horny teenagers sometimes. Amanda had wrapped her bare legs around Jake's waist as he did so, and while both of them were engaging in this public display of affection to make a point to Yun that she could take a flying fuck at the moon, they were also doing it because they were...Really...Even though both were decades removed from being that age, and well over a century married, still horny teenagers.
They'd only been officially married for five years in the real world, had only officially celebrated five wedding anniversaries in that same world, but thanks to the additional time allowed to them from the immortality of the realm, Jake and Amanda's marriage was now well past a century in length. That included over a century of nightly perfect fucks, and perfect orgasms. Amanda and Jake had laid each other, perfectly, every night, and many times multiple times a day, and it was still as intense as the first time. Amanda had also worn enough lingerie in bed to fill two Victoria's Secret stores to bursting.
And then Jake, because having his wife's legs around him was still well enough for him to want to feel them wrapped around him while he was naked and inside of her, said, "I know we just got back, but...We're going to pop back into the cabin...For a bit...We'll uh...See you in an hour, or so."
And off they had paraded back to their cabin, Amanda still with her legs wrapped around his waist and giggling the whole way as he carried her while the other survivors, save for Yun, and Ace, grinned broadly at the pair. After all, they had spent decades now with the pair of them, and knew that the couple could bang at seemingly the drop of a hat. They were definitely a happily-married couple.
Ace wasn't as bothered by it as Yun. After all, he and Cheryl had finally progressed to the home run stage, but still, with that forever tan, the black hair, and the icy-blue eyes she now had, Ace admitted that Amanda was definitely the hottest chick in the camp, in his book, especially with Kate Denson now gone for good. The blue in her eyes was real now, as well. Amanda had long since given up the contacts in favor of just thinking, and making her eyes that shade of blue naturally, and they maintained the color both inside and outside the realm.
Yun did not like losing. She'd been a fighter since she was young, and Jake Park was the peak of male attractiveness in the survivor camp in her eyes. There were other hotties, like Joey and Adam, but Jake trumped them, and had access to the Park family money to boot. She felt the whole display at the fire was really just an act, and decided to confirm her suspicions. She made sure no one was looking and then crept over to the Park's cabin. She had no doubt that after she peeked through the window, she'd see that they were both flopped on the couch, staring quietly and unhappily off into space and not doing anythi...
Nope.
Through the window, she could see both of them were already naked, and she admitted that entirely nude, Amanda, even though she was a bit older than Yun, had a tanned, lean, and sexy body that was equal to Yun's own. Currently she was on her back on the bed with her legs spread, and with her...Ugh...Husband's head between her parted thighs, eating her out as she writhed and twisted her fingers in his long black hair.
And then Amanda returned the favor, scooting to the end of the bed and taking him in her mouth before Jake urged her onto her back and began to passionately take her. Yun found herself surprised. The older man, Ash, had said the missing couple had been together a century, at least, yet as she watched them, the sex was wildly intense, which was quite unusual to see in a couple that had been together decades. Even the strongest of marriages saw sex taper off. Jake and Amanda had sex like it was still a brand-new experience for both of them.
She'd known them for all of a few minutes and already she was greatly annoyed at how close and simpatico they already demonstrated themselves to be. Amanda had bagged herself one hell of a prize, that was for sure. how she had done it, Yun wasn't sure, but guessed that part of the reason was that Amanda had probably put out on their very first date together.
A sudden voice behind her startled Yun, and she had to clamp her hands over her mouth to stifle a surprised scream as she turned around to see the man who had spoken to her behind her back. "You probably shouldn't be doing that," The male voice had said, not pleasantly. She turned and saw Ash Williams. He stood well clear of the windows, demonstrating that he was no peeping tom.
Ash seemed like a decent guy, but he had no business telling Yun what she could and couldn't do. "Mr. Williams, I was the top record producer where I came from. I know it means little to you, but you have no idea who I am, and..."
And then he took a step towards her. It wasn't a move to intimidate her, per se, but involuntarily, Yun found herself taking a small step backwards. Ash told her, "And you have no idea who she is. She used to be on the other side of this realm...As a killer. And she was very very good at it. Especially because she's small. People underestimated her. I know I did. It definitely looks like you are. It's been many decades since she'd been one, but there's no question that she still knows how. She's also held in very high regard by the Entity...You know...The thing that runs this place?"
He took another step towards her. "Point is, she's not someone to fuck with. And we all know she was a killer, and we like the pair of them together, so we're not ones to fuck with either. You strike me as a woman who doesn't like hearing the word no. Well, in this case, you'd probably better listen to it very closely, lest you end up in a trial with Amanda stalking you."
Ash made sure his head moved nowhere near the window. "Look...He's hot, but there are other guys. If the ones here now you don't like, give it time. I mean, you've been here for a week and you're not doing a lot to make friends. And in case it hasn't been made clear to you, it's probably going to be at least 50 years before the Entity considers returning you. It may be a lot longer than that. Pissing off everybody in the camp by acting entitled is going to make all that time pass really really slowly."
He turned, then stopped, saying over his shoulder, "Jake knows about her killer roots also. In fact, he fell for her, and she for him, while she was still a killer. They've been through Hell together, but like it or not, he chose her, he married her, and they are completely for keeps. Now, you're still new here, and I was a bit of an asshole when I first came here myself. First thing you need to do is get over it. I used to hunt Deadites with a shotgun, and with a chainsaw strapped to my wrist. Now all I can do to defend myself is run and hide. But it's the same with everybody. We all pull together. We survive together, and we stick it to the killers that try to sacrifice us, together. So...Maybe jump off your high horse a little. You'll be glad you did."
And then Amanda's screaming orgasm, though muffled by the walls, could still be heard, and Yun stole a glance back through the window seeing the tanned woman on the bed twisting underneath Jake, toes curling. And she could see that Jake's determined movements indicated he was nowhere near done. He kept up his pace, obviously wanting to get Amanda to cum one more time with him inside of her.
Maybe she should heed Ash's advice, at least for now. But eventually, she hoped, she could make Jake Park do to her what he was doing to Amanda. Amanda may have been the best of the bunch when he chose her, but now Yun was here, and he would eventually see that she was a much hotter and more attractive choice for companionship and hot, passionate sex.
She stood there, sneaking peeks inside the windows as Jake thrust himself in his wife. They were definitely good at sex, knew each other's bodies completely, and knew how to move in synch with each other. Jake's toned, firm build and his sexy ass were perfect. She watched the way Amanda screamed and came again before watching Jake ram himself inside of her, throwing his head back and moaning and shuddering, obviously filling her up with his sperm as she twisted and held him inside of her with her legs wrapped tightly around his ass.
She turned to leave. But she definitely hadn't quite given up on her ideas...Yet. After all, if Amanda was a killer, she'd given it up when she became a survivor, and didn't have the ability to do so anymore. Yun shouldn't be intimidated...Right? She turned and looked one last time at the window and almost wet herself in her shock and surprise. Amanda was standing there, staring at her darkly, still nude, her firm tits hanging freely.
Amanda had been well caught up in the sex while Jake was having her, but not so caught up in it that she hadn't been aware that someone was perving at them through the cabin window, and she'd watched the unknown figure out of the corner of her eye while Jake was doing all of the wonderful things he did to her. She expected Ace by now, but was actually surprised to see it was the new chick, Yun.
Yun stumbled, fell on her ass, got up, and moved quickly away. Amanda giggled as she watched her go. Yun, feeling like she had lost this particular round, was a bit grumpy. She settled back by the fire.
"What's funny?" Jake was looking at her and slowly getting back into his clothes. Was it Ace, perving them through the windows? Probably. Jake had come to the conclusion that Ace perved all the women as much as he could, and felt more than a little sorry for Cheryl.
Amanda turned to look at him. When she told him what she'd seen, her answer actually surprised him a little bit. "The new chick. She was watching your form apparently. Pretty obvious she has the hots for you."
Jake snorted. Jesus, this new woman was definitely something else. "Well I don't for her, at all. And it takes two to tango. I've met a few like her in my dad's social circle. They're astonishingly bitchy. The realm is gonna knock her on her ass real soon, and she'll find out very quickly that just because she wants something, that doesn't mean it's just going to land at her feet."
He was quiet a moment, thinking. a thought had come out of nowhere. And it made a lot of sense. It might actually be something that would reward her for her dedication for the past many years to not do again what she had done to Lewis Eby. Jake told her, "Pay her no mind, for now. If she needs something to further her education on the ways of the realm, and to make her realize she's not the big deal she thinks she is, I have an idea on how we can make her learn." Jake's smile was slightly twisted after he finished speaking.
Amanda glanced at him, her eyes speculative, wondering what Jake had in mind. While he'd bettered her over their many years together, she'd made him just slightly twisted like herself, and Jake had willingly allowed it to happen, and he was becoming almost as calculating and cunning as Amanda subconsciously, and sometimes consciously, remained. Whatever it was, she now knew their bond was strong enough that it could well be a doozy.
After about 15 minutes or so, Amanda and Jake were fully-dressed and emerged again from their cabin, walking pressed into each other, chatting and giggling together before they settled in by the fire themselves.
It was odd no longer having Kate there to play her guitar for them, but they had an alternative. During their frequent exits from the realm for the past many years, Amanda and Jake had managed to carry back more books, a big flat screen television, DVDs and a player, a video gaming system and games, professional-style poker chips and cards, additional board games, as well as a stereo system and player with lots and lots of CDs of music from all varieties.
Also, they'd slowly but surely added bean bag chairs in front of the TV, and were up to about 10 in total. They waited to bring those last, since they filled up their hands and they could bring nothing else, and they could only bring them two at a time. The stereo was on now in the gaming hall, loud enough to be heard by the people at the fire, and a compilation CD of 80s hits was playing.
In individual cabins, people had their own separate music players and music, as well as personal books. A few had asked for small T.V.s and their own gaming systems or DVD players and DVDs, and Amanda and Jake had delivered. After all, they had made lots of trips over the years to the real world, and had plenty of money at their disposal. It had gotten to the point where all the other survivors urged them to "contact the Entity," and try to go back, because they were like kids at Christmas over the stuff that Amanda and Jake usually returned with.
And it wasn't limited to the big stuff. The guys and the gals had made requests for favorite toiletries, and other nick nacks to remind them of the comforts of home, and then celebrated the fact that once the usable items came with Amanda and Jake to the realm, they never ran out. Nights after trials were filled with multiplayer "Resident Evil" matches and game nights, as well as other gaming from the Nintendo Gamecube system and the Playstation and Wii.
The Entity was particularly pleased now that it had seen the outcome. Amanda and Jake were locked together forever and it was apparent that having some of the comforts of home invigorated the survivors and made them work even harder in the trials. They focused less on the bad parts of the experience, and instead went all out, like it was a video game for them to play.
None of the electronics were plugged into any outlet, which gave the hall and the individual cabins a haunted-house quality for the uninitiated. It all just ran from the power of the realm, you turned it on and switched it off. And thanks to the powers of the realm, they never had to worry about anything breaking down, or any DVD or CD getting a scratch that would no longer allow it to play.
Jake and Amanda of course did not forget their Legion friends, and they both secretly brought them their own favorite make-up and toiletries, CD players, CDs, and a T.V and DVD player and movies to watch at their own camp. The two girls had squealed with glee after every trip they made with gifts for them, and afterwards, the growly sound of punk rock music could be heard blaring through the walls of Julie and Susie's cabins whenever they visited.
As Amanda snuggled with Jake, Ash said, "So how's my Apple stock doing?" He looked at her and flashed her a mildly snarky grin. Amanda had confessed that she'd let slip to Jake's father about the iPhones, and that they now had a lot of Apple stock percolating.
"Doing pretty well this year," Amanda said. "During 2008, it turned pretty sour, but it's been steadily recovering. Don't worry Ash, when you leave here, you'll get a piece of whatever we collect off of it when we sell it. We'll make sure we have it in an account in your name, thanks to the fact that you've given us your personal information, and a bank to direct deposit it once we sell the stock off finally. I carry it with me every time we return to the real world, and will use it when the stock is all sold off."
Ash grinned, "Good. Since we both accidentally pulled a Biff, I'm hoping that I'll at least get a million out of the deal." Amanda just smiled. She would let him believe he'd only get a million, but she hoped the stock would reach such heights that they'd be able to leave him much, much more.
And soon, she would find out that they would definitely be able to so so. Amanda and Jake had yet to return to finish the day September 18, but when they did, they would find out that Apple reached a massive record high on stock value that day, and later, Ash would find out that there would be much more than a million waiting for him when the Entity let him and Jane temporarily leave the realm.
In the interim, they idly chatted as the sun set and the sky grew dark. Ash finally turned to Jake and said, "You up for some "Resident Evil?"
Jake looked at him and arched a brow. He pressed his hand to his neck as though he was feeling for his pulse. "Am I breathing? Yes? Well then, I am definitely up for some "Resident Evil."
And so they'd entered the game hall and settled into bean bag chairs as Jane and Amanda followed, rolling their eyes. While they had brought a Wii, and Playstation, Ash still was in love with the Nintendo Game Cube and the little disc for "Resident Evil 4" barely ever left the unit.
"You've created a monster," Jane told her.
Amanda put an arm around her and gestured at Jake. "MonstERS."
They settled into bean back chairs watching Ash start off on the mercenaries level against what Ash dubbed as the chainsaw chicks, playing as Albert Wesker.